New Member Spotlight
Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be highlighting new AA members in the form of a Q&A. We hope you will learn about and get to know the new members of the AA family!
Introducing Brandon Goldberg
What part of Atlanta do you live in and what's your favorite part to visit?
I live in midtown and love to visit midtown!
What's your 9–5 and 5–9 life?
9–5: I'm an attorney for a medical device company in Kennesaw focusing on data protection, ethics rules and international sanctions. 5–9: After work I'm involved in the community beyond the Synagogue… professional associations, American Jewish Committee, Alumni groups, political groups. I'm on eight or nine boards right now. I keep it all straight with spreadsheets and charts. It's easiest when I run it… I get to set the calendar!
Is what you're doing now what you always wanted to do growing up?
No… I went to college to be a doctor. In college I was more interested in politics and public policy but wanted to stay in the healthcare world. So I approached it from the legal side instead!
What's one fact about you that people would be surprised to find out?
I like Nickelback!
Why did you choose AA as your synagogue?
It was the American Jewish Committee. All my friends from there went to AA so I tagged along and went ever since. "There's this young rabbi doing services in a tent in a parking lot." I had no idea what that meant, but… it worked!
Do you have a favorite charity that you wish people knew more about?
As much as we joke about alma maters reaching out for money, most schools have a lot of nuanced ways to do that… particular causes within schools. So maybe not just their general fund but more targeted opportunities.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
Volunteer. People always ask how I end up in leadership roles etc… Well I raise my hand to help and realize very few others are. And it's always helpful to volunteer for the responsibility no one else wants to do. You can make an impact very quickly.
MY PIECE OF ADVICE: Don't sample ice cream… just pick a flavor, and go for it.
You are starting a new obscure event in the Olympics. What would you compete in?
In the real world, I could be a gold medalist curler. Curling is quite a lot of fun!
Shabbat Corner
- Shir Shabbat 🔀: 6:00 p.m.—Zoom
- Candle Lighting: 8:00 p.m.
- Shabbat Morning Service 🔀: 9:30 a.m.—Zoom
- Torah Study 🔀: 10:30 a.m.—Zoom
- Mincha/Ma'ariv/Havdallah Service ▶️: 8:00 p.m.—Zoom
- Conclusion of Shabbat: 8:45 p.m.
- Torah Parsha (Achrei Mot-Kedoshim):
- Annual: Leviticus 16:1–20:27
- Triennial: Leviticus 16:1–17:7
- Haftara: Amos 9:7–15
- Parsha Video of the Week: The Schechter Institutes—Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim
Feel-Good News
Kiddush Sponors
Donna and Philip Newman in memory of Lynette Newman Cohen
Helen Lefkoff in honor of her birthday on 4/1
Susan and Jonathan Winner in honor of Susan's birthday on 4/5
Barbara and Dick Planer and Ira, Michael and Mindy, and Billy Planer in honor of Dick's birthday on 4/27
Barry Silver in honor of his birthday on 4/30
For the fifth year, Ahavath Achim has been nominated for Best Simcha/Celebrations Venue as part of Best of Jewish Atlanta: 2023 Readers' Choice Awards (brought to you by the Atlanta Jewish Times)! Vote for your Jewish Atlanta favorites, and you'll be entered to win one of several prizes through a random drawing. We hope you'll keep AA in mind when casting your vote. Voting closes on Events
Other Things Happening at AA
Overnight summer camp plans? Is your child is heading to an overnight camp this summer? If so, we'd love to hear your plans so we can try to arrange a visit (with local Jewish camps) and/or send a small gift (all camps). Please fill out this brief survey letting us know where your child will be and when.
This year, we would like to include grandchildren in our college and graduate school outreach. In addition to letters and treats around the Jewish holidays, our rabbis will be making visits to schools with more than three Ahavath Achim connected students. Let us know where your grandchildren are studying, and we will make sure they receive something meaningful from you and your spiritual family! If you have a grandchild enrolled in college, please contact Jill Rosner (404.603.5741; [email protected]) with the student's name, email, and school housing address.
We feel blessed to have a vibrant community that believes in the power of prayer as a source of comfort, strength and healing. At every service, we take a moment to recite the names of individuals we are holding in our hearts for health and healing. Beginning January 1, 2023, all are welcome to add names to our Misheberach (Healing) Prayer List for 30 days. These names will be recited each morning during prayer regardless of their support's presence at services. At the end of 30 days, we request that names be renewed with our office receptionist, Fern Schorr ([email protected]; 404.355.5222). Without renewal, names will be removed from the list with our hope that our prayers were successful in sending strength and wholeness.
Registration for Kesher (youth program) and Nesiah (teen program) is now open!
We are grateful for your continued support, patience, and fortitude as our community, country and world move through one of the most challenging times in modern history. With the guidance of the Center of Disease Control's (CDC) latest guidelines, we are sharing with you our updated protocols which will allow our synagogue building and community to live up to its traditional name, a Beit Knesset (A House of Gathering). Effective today, Friday, March 11, the following changes to our safety protocols will be in effect for our worship, cultural events, adult learning, and business meetings:- Fully vaccinated adults (16 years old and above) and individuals who have fully recovered from a documented COVID-19 infection in the last six months may attend indoor activities with or without a mask.
- If you are not vaccinated or have not recovered from a COVID-19 infection in the last six months (natural immunity), we invite you to use our virtual platform to participate with our community.
- If you are immunocompromised, a high-risk individual, or spend time around others who are, we encourage you to continue the use of masks when attending synagogue functions.
- For programs that share spaces with kids under five years old, including Family Shabbat, Kesher, and holiday celebrations, we will continue to require masks while inside the building for all attendees. We will always strive for outdoor gatherings for these communities whenever the weather cooperates.
We are hopeful that we are in the final stages of this pandemic, and we can continue to go from strength to strength (Hazak, Hazak, vNet'hazek). As we slowly reemerge from these difficult two years, there will be anxiety, concern, and caution. We anticipate some people will continue to wear masks. It is understandable to still be nervous about removing our masks indoors. Whatever choice you make regarding masks, we ask that, in the spirit of the cohesive and empathetic community that we are, you respect the choices that others make, even if you disagree with them. We will be monitoring the CDC recommendations carefully and will continue to adjust as we know more; this might mean that we revert to more stringent protocols if guidance changes. We appreciate your understanding, support, and patience as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times.
Do you know an AA congregant who is in the hospital or infirm? We are concerned about loved ones and friends who are in the hospital or infirm. Although our synagogue office remains closed, we are still working and would like to connect with you, especially in regards to pastoral care. If you have information about friends or family in the hospital or other care facilities, please contact Rabbi Rosenthal ([email protected]) directly. We always appreciate the opportunity to speak with anyone in need and offer support in any way we can.
Through our membership with the ADL's (Anti-Defamation League) Kulanu Initiaitve, our AA family is creating an antisemitism task force to partner with other communities across the country to collectively fight hate and antisemitism. Membership on the task force will require a year's commitment and involve participation in ADL virtual meetings and community of practice working sessions. Our congregation will also offer special programs, initiatives, and action steps to raise awareness, call out local and national antisemitic incidents, and build relationships with communities susceptible to antisemitic infiltration. To learn more about or to join the task force, please contact Rabbi Rosenthal ([email protected]).
Help feed the women at Rebecca's Tent, a shelter for homeless women at Congregation Shearith Israel! There are 21 dates to fill during the months of December, January, and March. Volunteering to provide dinner this season is easier than ever; safety concerns limit the number of women served, and the shelter can now accept restaurant meals or your home-cooked specialties. If you're ready to choose your date(s) to volunteer, please fill out the online form (link below). After signing up, we will email you with confirmation of your submission. For more details or questions about volunteering, please contact Ann and Herb Alperin ([email protected]; 404.231.2310).
The AAACTS (Awareness and Action to Abolish Child Trafficking for Sex) Committee is working to provide backpacks filled with school supplies to children who have been trafficked and rescued. Please help these children feel confident and cared-for as they start school in the fall. You can help make this possible by making a donation to AAACTS via the donation form below.
Donate
Select Fund>AAACTS
We need your involvement in AA's social action programs! Motivate your family and friends "into action" towards the betterment of our community, and envision our current programs continued for the future. Reach out to your nieces, nephews, friends, and new neighbors for new contacts and ideas to help us increase our pool of volunteers for our wonderful existing and future programs. We need you! Find out how you want to be involved by reviewing the list of social action programs in which our synagogue has been involved for many years. If you'd like to become involved, please email our Social Action Chair: Alan Wexler ([email protected]; 404.872.8880).
Are you a warm, friendly, dedicated volunteer who wants to make a difference in a fellow congregant's life through acts of loving kindness? Are you willing to make a personal call or visit to comfort and support a congregant who has lost a loved one or been ill? These caring touches – acts of loving kindness – make all the difference in the world to those receiving them. If you want to be a part of strengthening our community, then AA's new Chesed Initiative is for you! This committee will work with our clergy, staff, and lay leaders to connect members who need help with members who want to do good deeds! Additionally, if you know of a congregant who is facing personal difficulties related to health, loss, or grief, please contact Fern Schorr ([email protected]; 404.355.5222) to let us know. Help us reach out to members in need. We welcome your help and time with this important project.
In 1977 a very special Torah came to reside at AA. Czech Torah #1339 was originally written in the 1800s for the community of Plzeň, Czech Republic. The Torah survived the Holocaust, a coup, and 20 years in a basement with 1500 other scrolls before making it's way to London as part of the Memorial Scrolls Trust and eventually Atlanta. Today we are working to restore this piece of history to a usable state and welcome it into our sanctuary ark at our dedication in August. To do that, we need your help. Please consider making a donation to help restore this special Torah so it can be used for generations to come. The Czech Torah is championed by six generations of the Goldstein Family in memory of Betty and Leon Goldstein z"l and their love of Torah and learning.
Donate to the Ukraine Emergency Fund of Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
We are proud and grateful to formally launch the Marilyn Ginsberg Eckstein Cultural Arts Program Fund. Formerly the Cultural Arts Program, established in 1977, this fund was established by congregant Marilyn Ginsberg Eckstein to perpetuate AA's broad cultural arts program offerings. AA's cultural arts programming currently consists of: the Fran Eizenstat and Eizenstat Family Memorial Lecture Series, the Chamber Concert Series, the Liturgical Music Artist-in-Residency Program, weekly Shabbat and annual High Holiday musical offerings, and jazz, pop, vocal and instrumental concert offerings. The Cultural Arts Program has long been recognized for its breadth of offerings and its excellence. We hope that you will consider making contributions to this fund as the Marilyn Ginsberg Eckstein Cultural Arts Program offerings continue to present world-renowned speakers, dignitaries, artists, and virtuoso musicians.
